


Hey Jealousy

by Lexi_the_dragon_muse



Series: Avoiding the obvious [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: F/M, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-14
Updated: 2014-12-14
Packaged: 2018-03-01 09:15:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2767766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lexi_the_dragon_muse/pseuds/Lexi_the_dragon_muse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Phil keeps feeling the green-eyed monster of jealousy rise up in him anytime he is around Darcy, so he attempts to take some time to put his thoughts in order.  But, being Phil Coulson means that a vacation never goes the way it was planned.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hey Jealousy

**Author's Note:**

> First of all, thank everyone for the kudos and reviews on the prior two stories! This one kinda look a left turn that has left it open for more stories! It was hard for me to figure out where to take the story after the twist. :D This is unbeta'd, so if you see any glaring mistakes, please let me know!

**Hey Jealousy**

It had been a week since Natasha had given Phil the risk assessment on William Gardner.  A week since she told him that the man was not a risk to Darcy’s safety.  A week that left him with the inability to fight down the jealousy that swamped him every time he overheard Darcy mentioning her friend, Will.  It was to the point that he was actively avoiding her when he could.  The optimum word was when.  He had never realized how much of his day was spent in her company, from the meals that the team shared to just seeing her in passing when he was trying to track one of the scientists down to sign paperwork.  Finally, just to catch a break, he started skipping team meals.  He stayed late at S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, he called friends in town and finagled dinner invitations, but still he was in her company more often than not when he was at the Tower.  So, on Friday before her date when he was walking into Jane’s lab and he overheard her talking excitedly about the new club they were going to that night, Phil felt something inside of him snap.  Spinning on his heel, he quickly walked out of the lab and right back to the elevator and went back to his room.

Once there, he collapsed onto the comfortable leather couch and buried his head in his hands.  _What the hell am I doing?_ he thought to himself.  _Shit.  I can’t do this anymore.  I need a break._   Taking a deep breath, he picked up his phone.  “Jarvis?  Privacy mode, please.”

“Certainly, Agent Coulson.  Privacy mode engaged.  All visual and audio recording suspended until further instructions received.”

Phil allowed himself a wry smile.  Every moment he had to talk to the A.I. just made him like him (since he fully believed that Jarvis was his own person) even more.  “Thank you, Jarvis,” he replied as he hit the speed dial to call Fury to request some personal time off.

_“What?”_ Fury snarled into the phone.

“You really need to work on your phone etiquette, Marcus,” he responded, calling the director by the one name that only handful of people knew about.

_“Shit, Cheese.  You know I don’t like it when you call me that.”_

“Why?”

_“Because it means that you’re gonna ask for me for something I won’t like. What is it this time?”_ Fury replied with a sigh.

“A week off.  Somewhere nice and tropical, with no cell reception.”  Dead silence greeted him.  “Hello?  Are you there?”

_“Who are you and what have you done with Phil Coulson?”_ Fury said, only partially joking.

“Marcus…I just need a break and I don’t want anyone to know about it.”

_“What’s going on, Cheese?  Tell me who the hell did what and I’ll take the mother fucker out personally.”_

Phil huffed out a laugh.  “It has nothing to do with work, Marcus.  When was the last time that I asked for time off?  Voluntarily.”

_“Eight years, three weeks and two days.  You see why I’m worried, Cheese,”_ Fury began, _“but if anyone deserves a week off, it’s you.  You’ve got it.  I take it that you don’t want the Avengers to know where you are going so I’ll arrange everything myself and you can come by tomorrow to pick up the tickets.”_

“Thanks.  I owe you one,” he replied with relief flooding his body.  “I’ll be there by oh-eight-hundred.”  Fury just hummed as he disconnected the call.  Sighing, Phil quickly packed a bag, enough to last him a week on the beach.  Once done, he decided to call it a night and hope that he was able to sleep.

The following morning, after an uneasy night of sleep and questioning himself, Phil looked at his bed.  He was dressed in his normal suit and the bag he packed was not unlike his normal go bag, so with a conscious decision, he placed his phone on the bedside table and left.  It was early enough that most of the team wasn’t awake.  He felt lucky that he was able to avoid them as he left the building.  The trip to the New York headquarters took less than an hour and right at the promised time, Phil was walking into Fury’s office.

Fury looked up as he walked and gave him a nod as he opened his drawer and pulled out a manila envelope.  “Here you go.  You are now booked for a week at the ass end of nowhere.”

Phil accepted the envelope and opened it.  His eyes widened in surprise as he saw his itinerary to the Cocos Islands, a place he had mentioned wanting to visit when he was recovering from Loki’s scepter.  “Nick...”

“Don’t get emotional on me Coulson, or I’ll book you a flight to Madripoor.”  Fury looked at him, an understanding look in his eyes.  “Now, get the fuck out of here before I decide to put you to work managing one of the many fires that keeps popping up with Hydra.  Wheels up at ten.”

“Thanks, Nick,” he returned with a nod before taking the advice and quickly leaving the office.  He made a detour to his office to go over the itinerary, seeing that he was taking an S.H.I.E.L.D. jet to Hong Kong, before hopping on a commercial jet for the flight to Perth, Australia.  The flight from New York to Hong Kong (even on an S.H.I.E.L.D. jet) was still twelve hours, so with the time change, he would arrive at eleven a.m. on Sunday.  He got a small break after landing.  His flight from Hong Kong to Perth, Australia didn’t leave until almost three in the afternoon and would be landing just before eleven p.m.  He would stay in Perth Sunday night and Monday until his final flight to the Cocos Islands left early Tuesday morning, landing in the early afternoon.  All in all, it was more than twenty-four hours on a plane.  Still, it was almost a full two weeks of alone time, so he was going to take the time to rest, recharge and try to wrestle his emotions back under control.

He quickly read through the rest of the paperwork, committing all of the pertinent information to memory.  Once that was done, he sat at his desk to set up all of the out of office automatic replies prior to the flight leaving.

#

The sound of “West End Girls” by the Pet Shop Boys awoke Darcy with a groan.  She fumbled for her phone, not even bothering to open her eyes until she had to see to swipe across the screen.  “What up, Will?”

_“Hey, gorgeous.  You up yet?”_

“Uh.  What time is it?”

_“One.”_

“Dude, we didn’t get in until six.  How do you sound so awake?”

_“Jason got in this morning.”_

“I thought he wasn’t due in until next week?”

_“He said that he missed me too much and finished everything up early.  So, wanna meet my boyfriend?”_

“I need so much coffee right now,” Darcy groaned.  “Late lunch?  Early dinner?”

_“Late dinner.  Jason wants to take us someplace nice, classy, for our intro.”_

That certainly woke Darcy up.  “He’s trying to impress me.  Why?”

_“You’re my best friend, Darce.  He wants to make a good impression.  Please?  For me?”_ Will whined.

Darcy signed heavily.  “Fine.  What time?”

_“Eight.  We’ll pick you up.  Maybe I’ll finally get to see your place?”_

“Can I get back to you on that?” Darcy asked as she bit her lip.  “I’m not sure I’m supposed to give out my apartment location, ya know for security purposes.”

_“Why are you being so evasive?  You’re worrying me, Darcy-girl.”_   His unease was clearly evident in his voice. 

“It’s just my job, Will,” Darcy replied.  “Let me ask and make sure that’s okay.  I’ll call you back soon and let you know.”

_“You’d better, Darce.  I almost feel like ya’ve gone and joined a cult or something.”_

Darcy couldn’t help the laughter that bubbled over.  “Definitely not a cult, Will.  Give me an hour or so.  I’ve gotta get some coffee and a shower would probably be best before I try to face anyone.”

_“Okay, Darcy.  Just call me, ‘kay?”_

“Of course, handsome.  Talk to ya, soon,” she replied before dropping the phone on the bed and sitting up.  “Urg.  Hey J-man.”

“Yes, Miss Lewis?”

“Is Son of Coul here?”

“No.  Agent Coulson left around seven a.m. this morning and has not returned as of yet.”

She sighed.  “What about Steve?”

“Captain Rogers is in the gym with Agents Barton and Romanoff.”

“Perfect.  Can you get a pot of coffee going while I take a shower?”

“Certainly.  There also is some left over Italian from last night’s dinner.  It is in the common kitchen.”

“J-man.  You are awesome.  After coffee and a shower, I’ll go and talk to Steve first.”

Thirty minutes, two cups of coffee and one wet French braid later, Darcy was walking into the gym wearing a comfortable pair of yoga pants and one of Thor’s t-shirts.  She settled back against the wall as she watched Steve and Natasha battle.  Even though Steve had superior strength and a sheer weight advantage over the red-head, as usual, it looked as if she was going to beat him.  Two punches, three kicks and one spectacular flip into a kick later, Steve was on his back with Natasha’s foot inches from his throat.

Clint clapped from his perch high above the match.  “And that is Natasha up three to nothing today.  What’s wrong, Steve?  You usually beat her at least once.”

Steve just stood.  “Must be an off day,” he said with a self-depreciating smile.  “Good bout, Tasha.”  He looked over towards Darcy.  “Enjoy the show?”

Darcy smiled.  She knew that he knew that she like to watch them spar.  “Educational.  I love watching Tasha kick ass.  But, I’m really down here to ask you a question.”  She bit her lip.  “So, I kinda have this dinner thing tonight, formal, and the friend that I’m going with wants to pick me up here.  Now, keeping in mind that massive NDA that I sighed, I haven’t exactly been completely honest with him about where I live.  I just wanna know, if I tell him to pick me up here, is that gonna cause problems?  ‘Cuz, he’s after me about keeping where I live a secret.  Seriously, he thinks that I joined a cult.”

Clint swung down out of the rafters to land softly on the mat.  “Your boyfriend?”

Darcy furrowed her brow.  “Boyfriend?”  She thought for a second before it made sense to her and broke out in gales of laughter, doubling over at her waist as she tried to get her breath back.  “Oh, Thor.  You think that Will is my boyfriend?  That is the most hilarious thing that I’ve ever heard!”  She kept laughing at their confused faces.

“Why is that funny?” Steve asked.

Darcy wiped at her eyes.  “Oh…” she said, trying to get her giggles under control.  “Will is gayer than a picnic basket.  Seriously.  He’s my best friend!  Anyway, he’s introducing me to his partner tonight and they want to go someplace fancy.  I just want to know if it’ll cause an incident if I have him pick me up in from of the tower.”

“Wait…Mr. All American Football player looks is gay?” Clint exclaimed, looking at Natasha in shock.

She just smirked and looked at Darcy.  “I don’t think it will.  Did you ask Coulson?”

Darcy shook her head.  “Jarvis said that he left around seven this morning and is not back yet.”

That caused both Clint and Natasha to look at each other, having another eyebrow conversation.  Clint finally nodded and left the gym quickly.  Natasha looked back at Darcy.  “The Avengers are not part of S.H.I.E.L.D.; we are consultants.  As long as you don’t reveal classified information, it should be fine to let him know that you live here.  Just say that you work for a Stark scientist and leave out about the Avengers.”

“I can do that.”

“Good.  What time is this dinner?”

“They’re picking me up at eight.”

“I’ll be at your door at six, then,” Natasha said before she too walked out.

Darcy looked at Steve in confusion. “What the hell just happened?”

Steve shrugged.  “I have no idea.”

Darcy just shrugged in return.  “All righty then.  I’m just gonna go get something to eat.”

Steve nodded and turned to walk towards the showers as Darcy took out her phone and called Will. 

_“Hey, gorgeous.”_

“Hey, Will.  Okay, so I talked to the bosses and I have the okay for you to know where I live.  Just, don’t like freak out or anything.”

_“Darce, why would I freak out about where you live?  I know you live in Manhattan, so you can’t be livin’ in the slums or anything.”_

Darcy sighed.  “No, I’m not living in the slums…”  She sighed heavily again.  “Okay.  I live in Stark Tower.”  There was dead silence on the other line.  “Will?  You still there?”

_“Sorry.  I just spaced out for a moment.  Did you just say that you live in Stark Tower?”_

“Yeah,” Darcy said as she held in a giggle.  “Look, the scientist that I interned with got a position with Stark Industries.  Since she is incapable of taking care of mundane things when her head is wrapped up in science, I came along to make sure that she was fed, watered and has natural light at least one day a week.”

_“Ummm…I don’t know what to think.”_

“Don’t think, just pick me up at eight so I can meet Jason and give him my seal of approval.”

_“Okay.  I can do that,”_ Will replied in a distracted tone.  _“See you at eight.”_

Four hours later, Darcy was sitting on her couch when a knock sounded on the door.  She reluctantly got up to let Natasha in, wondering why the spy wanted to meet her here.  “Hey Tasha,” she greeted the woman as she gracefully walked into the room.

Natasha smirked as she walked straight to her bedroom, opened her closet and began to pull dresses out.  “Tell me about Will,” she instructed as she kept throwing dresses on the bed.

“Will is Will.  We’ve known each other forever.  I’m the first person he told he was gay, but wasn’t ready to be out of the closet.  Everyone thought we were high school sweethearts, but we really just protected each other.  The guys at my school were all about this,” Darcy said as she gestured to her chest, “and only wanted to get into my pants. I didn’t want that.”

“So you’re meeting his boyfriend for the first time?” Natasha probed as she moved from dresses and began to pull shoes out of the closet.

“Yeah.  We kinda drifted apart when he moved to L.A. and everything went down with Thor in New Mexico.  We would text message each other and email, but it just wasn’t the same.  He’s getting a shot on Broadway, so he’s in the city now.  I guess we’re making up for lost time before his rehearsal schedule gets insane next week.  Then we won’t have a chance to hang until after opening day.”

Natasha hummed and she sorted through the dressed laid out.  “Here, go put this on,” she instructed as she threw a dress at Darcy.

Darcy caught the dress reflexively and sighed.  “Why exactly are you picking clothes out for me?”

“You want the boyfriend to like you, no?”  Darcy nodded.  “Then you need to look flawless, but like you.”

Darcy opened her mouth and then shut it quickly.  She had learned not to question Natasha’s need to occasionally mother-hen her after the kidnapping.  She didn’t do it often, but Darcy often gained a lot of reward out of it.  She quickly made her way into the bathroom and slipped into the red dress knee length dress.  She had barely opened the door before another dress was flung at her.  “Not that one, it’s not right.”  Darcy sighed as she continued to try on the dresses before Natasha was satisfied.  The one the spy chose was a deceptively simple wrap dress in a deep ocean blue that accented her assets in the classiest way possible.  Natasha just hummed her approval and passed over a pair of silver kitten-heeled sandals before sitting Darcy down at the vanity to do her hair and make-up. 

Over the next hour, Darcy was only able to sit back and stare in awe at the magic that Natasha was making.  After pulling a series of ubiquitous non-labeled bottles out of a bag, she proceeded to do the impossible.  Create perfect waves without the frizziness.  “Tasha, seriously.  I need whatever it is that you are using on my hair.  It always frizzes.”

Natasha smiled.  “I will make sure that you have some, then.  Now, show me your makeup.”

After the success with her hair, Darcy had no compunction to pass over her makeup and she was not disappointed with the result.  Natasha managed to make her look natural, even eschewing her normal fire-engine red lipstick for a more natural coral tone.  Natasha looked at her once before nodding slightly.  “You’ll do,” she said, which Darcy interpreted as Natasha being pleased.  She was a woman of few words, after all.

Darcy just shook her head as the phone rang.  She checked the caller I.D. and smiled.  “What’s up, handsome?”

_“We’re downstairs.”_

Darcy checked the clock and noticed it was half past seven.  “You’re early, but luckily, I’m ready.  Give me a few minutes and I’ll be down,” she said before hanging up and grabbing a navy clutch that was barely big enough for her phone.  “Okay.  I can do this.  I’ve hung out with Tony Stark.  People with money don’t intimidate me,” she said softly.

Natasha snorted.  “If this man is dating your best friend, don’t you think he has more than money?”

Darcy nodded.  “Okay.  Good point.”  She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly and then smiled.  “I’ll be back later.”

“Have fun, _sestrenka_ ,” Natasha said as she disappeared out the door before her.

By the time Darcy closed the door behind her, Natasha was nowhere in sight, so she quickly made her way to the elevator.  “Ground floor please, Jarvis.”

“Certainly, Miss Lewis.  Have a pleasant evening.”

“Thanks, Jarvis.”

In just a few minutes, the elevator doors opened and Darcy strode out quickly towards the security desk.  She waved at the guard as she caught sight of Will and another man, both dressed in suits.  “Will!” she called out, causing both men to turn around.

Will smiled at the sight of her and nodded his head.  “Darce,” he said as he met her on the floor with his customary hug.  “So, you live here.”

Darcy shrugged.  “It’s a place to sleep,” she said with a smile.  “Introduce me.”

“Darcy, I’d like you to meet Jason Fitzpatrick.  My boyfriend.  Jason, this is Darcy Lewis, my best friend.”

Darcy stuck out her hand, appraising the non-descript man standing before her.   He was perhaps an inch or two shorter than Will, lean with brown hair.  As stunningly handsome Will was, he seemed to be just ordinary next to him.  In essence, he looked exactly like she had thought.  An accountant.  “Nice to finally meet you.  Will has told me so much.”

Jason shook her hand.  “He has told me a lot about you.  Not that you were living at Stark Tower, though.”

Darcy laughed.  “He didn’t know.  I work for one of Stark’s scientists and a lot of her work is very hush-hush, so I kept that under wraps for as long as I could.”

“I didn’t know you were a scientist,” Jason responded.

“Oh, I’m not.  I barely was able to pass high school science, as Will can attest to.  I just am really good at making Jane eat, sleep and bathe once in a while, so she kept me on.”

“Ah, she is very focused on her work then,” he said. 

“Yep,” Darcy said.

He nodded.  “I know the type.  We should head out to make our reservation.”

Will and Darcy nodded as they walked to the door.  Will opened the door and motioned for both her and Jason to precede him.  Darcy walked out first, unsurprised to see a luxurious Lincoln Town Car waiting for them.  Darcy slid in the back once the driver opened the door for her and only raised an eyebrow as Will followed suit.  Once Jason was in, the driver closed the door and took his place behind the wheel, pulling smoothly into traffic.

Darcy intended to grill (erm…politely inquire) into Jason’s background during the drive.  “So, Jason.  Will tells me you’re an accountant for one of the Big Four.  Which one?”

“Price Waterhouse Cooper,” he replied readily.  “It is really unusual for my family.  My family’s fortune was built on architecture, but somehow I didn’t get that gene.  I knew from the time I was a child that I wanted to do something with money and numbers.”  He chuckled softly.  “Actually, in fact, I told my mother when I was in kindergarten that I wanted to be a banker.  Strange, huh?”

Darcy suppressed a smile.  “I wanted to be Shannon Miller.  Puberty really sucked for me.”

“Astronaut,” Will supplied.

“See, normal desires of a child,” Jason shot back with a smile.  “I was abnormal.  But, luckily, my parents supported me and didn’t try to push me into whatever mold they thought I’d fit, not like some of my friends growing up.  Why is it parents want their kids to be perfect little copies of them?”

Darcy snorted.  “You’ve got me there.”

“So how do you like the city?”

“I grew up in Philly, it’s not much different.  More disasters than I’d like, but it’s surprising how quickly you get used to it.”

Both of the guys laughed.  “I hope so,” Will said as the car slid to a stop in front of a non-descript building. 

Darcy climbed out of the car, recognizing the small golden plaque right by the door just by Pepper’s descriptions.  It was one of the hottest restaurants in New York, with a waiting list close to a year.  _Le Papillion._   When it had opened prior to Christmas, it had had become restaurant du jour.  Tony and Pepper had been invited to the grand opening and when Pepper had returned, she had raved about the _Gateau au Chocolat sans Farine,_ which was a chocolate and raspberry dessert.  She raised an eyebrow and looked at Jason.  “I’m impressed.  How’d you get reservations?”

Jason flushed a little.  “I used to date the chef.  We parted on good terms and when I told him that my boyfriend was introducing me to his best friend, he obliged in getting me in.”

“Aw,” Darcy said, barely containing a smile.  “You want me to like you.  That’s so cute.  Dude, you could have done that for a lot less.  But, I am obligated to tell you that if you break his heart, they will never find your body.”

Jason looked at little stunned at her simple statement.  Finally, he smiled.  “Duly noted.”  He gestured up short set of steps for them to precede him.  Once inside, he gave his name to the maître-d and they were quickly shown to a secluded table.

Darcy looked around at the décor.  It was elegant, but not ostentatious.  And while the tablecloths were red, it surprisingly did not remind her of Iron Man.  Their waiter was over quickly and after taking their drink orders, he left them to peruse the menu.  It only took a few moments for Darcy to decide on the grilled rib eye steak with a peppercorn sauce, with the _salade d’automne_ for an appetizer.  She already knew that she wanted the chocolate and raspberry dessert.

Both men were similarly quick with the orders and with a discreet gesture, Jason called the waiter back to their table to take their orders.  Once they were done, he turned his gaze back to her.  “So, tell me how you came to work for a scientist when your degree is in political science.”

Darcy nodded and preceded to give them a highly edited version of her internship.  “The crazy thing was that I just needed the credits to graduate and I ended up staying with her. Really, Jane has become my best female friend, even though she doesn’t like shopping or the like,” she concluded as their food arrived.

“That’s why you have me, gorgeous,” Will responded with a smirk.

Darcy laughed.  “True.  You always were the best shopper of the two of us.  Speaking of which, I need to hit up some vintage stores.  Wanna join?”

Jason sighed.  “Really?  You have to ask him that.”

She giggled.  “Not really, but I thought with his upcoming massive rehearsal schedule, I might be nice and probe to see if he had time.”

Jason snorted softly.  “He would rather lose sleep than lose a chance to shop.”

“I’m not that bad!” Will shot back with a twinkle in his eyes, expecting the two incredulous looks that he got in return.  “Okay, fine.  Maybe I am.  What can I say?  I love to find good bargains and really, Jay.  Even you have to admit that dressing Darcy is a fabulous opportunity.”

“I can see the appeal,” he said before digging into salmon. 

Darcy just fought down a blush as she fell silent to enjoy her meal.

The men followed suit and they stayed quiet until dessert and coffee was served.  Jason gave her a look, which made her nervous, before asking, “So, Will tells me you’re single.  Why?  You are obviously gorgeous and intelligent.”

Darcy shrugged.  “I’m very picky.”

Will just snorted.  “No, you are not that picky.  You are hung up over that man at work.  Jesus, Darce.  I’ve never seen your face light up the way it does when you talk about this man.  I don’t care if he’s twice your age.  You’re too mature for someone our age.  You need to get over yourself and _tell_ him how you feel.  It’s likely that if he returns your feelings, he feels guilt about that.  You’ve already told me he’s a good guy, so I swear…” he trailed off, realizing how much of a lecture that he was giving in an upscale restaurant.

“You swear what?” Darcy returned with an eyebrow raise.  A look she perfected after studying Natasha and Clint having their eyebrow conversations.

“I will find a way to lock both of you guys in the same room and let you hash it out.”

Darcy immediately had an image of her and Phil being locked in the same room.  Knowing what a ninja he was, she knew that the door would not stay locked for long.  “Good luck with that.  I’d like to see you try.”

Will sighed, closing his eyes briefly.  Jason reached across the table and took his hand for a moment.  “If you don’t mind my opinion,” he said hesitantly.

“Go ahead,” Darcy said with a huff. 

“As a former member of the unrequited love club, it’s always better to at least know and get your feelings out there than to reside in limbo.  At least if you know he doesn’t feel the same way, then you can eventually move on.”

Darcy opened her mouth to respond, but then her brain kicked in.  What Jason was saying was true.  She knew that she needed to deal with the situation between her and Phil.  If she didn’t deal with it, it could end up causing problems at the most inopportune time.  “Okay.  Both of you are right.  I’ll put my big girl panties on and deal with it.”  She shot them both a look.  “Now, will you both drop it for the rest of the night?”

Both men smiled and nodded their heads, just as the waiter walked up with their desserts.

#

When the S.H.I.E.L.D. jet finally landed in Hong Kong, a little after three p.m. local time, Phil was glad.  Apparently, some tropical storm over the Pacific Ocean was bad enough to have the jet divert from its normal path, almost causing an international incident when they strayed over mainland China at one point.  Only the pilot offering to have jets escort them until they were around the storm seemed to mollify the Chinese government.  With the diversion and the unexpected headwind, he was just grateful for only a four hour delay, even if it meant that he had missed his connecting flight to Perth and would have to stay overnight in Hong Kong on Sunday.  Once out of the airport, he wondered if he should chance a hotel for the night or just make due with a bunk in the S.H.I.E.L.D. office there.  Weighing his options (and the fact that he was still on New York time), he decided to drop his bag at the office and wander around the city.  It had been years since he had been to the Hong Kong office and he never had as much time to explore as he wanted.  He knew that he didn’t want to sleep, he needed to wear himself out so that he could get back to a proper sleep schedule, so familiarizing himself with Hong Kong and the local cuisine sounded like the best idea to him.

Traffic in Hong Kong was as bad as he remembered; the drive from the airport to the S.H.I.E.L.D. office in Central, Hong Kong, took close to three hours.  By the time he dropped off his bag, after making phone calls to arrange for his new flight and to let the hotel know that he would be arriving Monday, he was starving and in need of caffeine.  Thankfully, there was a small café attached to the office that served a decent cup of coffee, so he grabbed one on the way out of the office to sip as he walked.

Hong Kong was a thriving metropolis and it reminded him strongly of New York, but made him think about Darcy all over again.  Grimacing at this circular pattern of this thoughts, he made a conscious effort to divorce his thoughts from New York and try out some local cuisine.  As he wandered, he studied the people around him (occupational hazard) and was pleased to find he was still fluent in Cantonese.  He listened to conversations, which varied widely, and it was one such conversation that led him to a large restaurant that specialized in _dim sum_.  Determined to start slow, he found the restaurant and quickly ordered a few different types.  He ate quickly and then was off, wandering around the financial district again. 

As he walked, Phil made a conscious decision to clear his mind of everything.  Every thought, every conscious decision, he let slid off of him.  He focused on his breathing, counting this breaths as he walked.  Four in, four out.  Finally, he felt the tension in his shoulders begin to relax.  With the relaxation came the lessoning of a headache that he’d had so long that he had forgotten about it.  It was then he realized how tense he had been since Darcy had met up with her boyfriend.  That alone was enough to convince him that this vacation was long overdue.

He continued to wander aimlessly, taking in the sights and smells of the city.  His nose twitched as he caught the smell of barbeque and his stomach grumbled in appreciation.  Making a stop, he quickly purchased some to eat as he walked.  By now, the sun had set, but the sticky humidity as in full affect.  Phil put it out of his mind, he’d worked in the rain forest during the rainy season, so this type of weather was not unusual for him.  He knew from experience that just because the sun went down, it didn’t necessarily mean that it would get cooler.  Still, he was grateful that it wasn’t raining. 

He changed directions abruptly, deciding to head to the southeast and towards Hong Kong Park.  The last time he was in the city, he had enjoyed a couple of hours walking through the park, taking in the sounds of smells of nature (albeit overlaid with the ever present exhaust). Within half an hour, he was off of the city streets and into the green space.  As he walked, he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.  Danger.  Incongruously, he folded his arms behind his back, fingers within easy reach of his gun.  He opened his senses, paying careful attention for the sounds of footsteps that would betray someone trying to sneak up behind him, but heard nothing.  Ten steps later, he flinched when he felt a dart enter his neck and swore silently as he turned around, only to find no one there.  He quickly withdrew the dart, and turned back towards the city streets, knowing he would be safer, but only made it a few steps before his vision began to gray and darkness overcame him.

#

When Phil awoke, it was to a pounding headache.  One he recognized as being from a powerful sedative.  He had been stripped of everything but his boxers and white undershirt, and bound with manacles to a metal chair.  He steadied his breathing, forcing the pain into the back of his mind as he rocked the chair minutely.  It was bolted to the floor.  _Well, I’ve been kidnapped by people with some sense,_ he thought drolly.  He took the opportunity to glance around the room, noting the barren concrete walls of a muddled greyish brown color, the lack of a window and only a single metal door, with no obvious way to open it from the inside.  He counted five air vents, each of them barely wide enough for his head.  _Definitely not amateurs.  Who am I dealing with here?  I was attacked in the park, in the financial district, but that doesn’t remove the possibility of local crime lords being involved in this._   He racked his memories of the last time he was in Hong Kong, but it had been at least ten years, and admittedly his life had gone through many dramatic changes since that time.

His musing was interrupted by a spotlight flicking on, making his eyes water at the intensity of the light.  The sound of a bar being moved from the other side of the door made him squint and turn all of his attention to the door, which opened quickly.  The silhouette of a woman caught his attention, but with the light in his eyes, he was unable to make out any of her features.  Years of experience and training grounded him, calm infusing him, heightening his senses.  As sudden as the light had appeared, it disappeared.  His only reaction was to blink a few times to help his eyes acclimate back to a normal light level. 

“I am glad to see you awake, Agent Coulson.  It’s nice to make your acquaintance,” the woman said.

“I seem to be at a disadvantage here.  I have no idea who you are,” Phil replied, his mind already assessing her as a threat.  Five-five, maybe five-six, one hundred thirty pounds, blonde hair, brown eyes, upper-class British accent.  Even as he studied her, his mind supplied him with background information.  She matched the surveillance video of the woman who helped Isaac Hamilton abduct Darcy.  Her body had not been found at the manor where they had rescued Darcy from, however no one had been able to discover who exactly she was.

“Paisley Bancroft.  Although, you may know me better as Atropos.”

Phil thought for a moment before his basic knowledge of Greek mythology and the Fates came to the forefront.  “If you are Atropos, then where might Clotho and Lachesis be?” he asked.

She smiled, pleased he had recognized her.  “Clotho and Lachesis have little to do with mortals once their duties are done.”

“Correct me if I am wrong, Clotho is the one that weaves the thread of life, Lachesis determines one’s lot and length of life and you are the embodiment of death.”

“Correct.”

“So, are you here to tell me that my time on this earth is done?”

Her resulting laugh sounded like bells ringing.  “No, your lot in life is not done yet, Phillip Coulson.  I am merely here to ensure that your life is not cut by anything but my shears.”

_Okay, Phil.  You’ve met Thor, how possible is it that this woman is telling the truth or as Banner puts it, is her brain a bag of cats?_   Wary that she might be telling the truth, he decided to play along.  “So, why am I here?”

She grew serious.  “You are here because these men have captured me and I am trying to get back to my sisters.  They seek to use me to end the lives of those who oppose them.”  She looked at him.  “You have heard of ambrosia, yes?”  He nodded.  “They have found a compound that I can only call anti-ambrosia.  It strips a god of his immortality.  We, the Gods, didn’t believe them until they captured Pan and injected him with a serum.  We watched in horror as Pan became but a mortal man.”

Phil was caught up in the story, which rang true to his ears.  “So why did you not retreat?  You can retreat to Olympus, correct?”

She smiled softly.  “Yes, we can, but if we retreat from mortality in full, the gifts that we bestowed upon man would begin to fade.”

“I don’t understand.  Why?”

“Do you know who Prometheus is?”

“Per Greek mythology, Prometheus is the Titan that gave fire to man.”

She smiled.  “Yes, and like Prometheus, many Gods gave gifts to man.  Some of them are along the lines of the Muses, art, music, written word, but some of them are like the ability to heal yourselves.  If the Gods completely withdraw from the mortal world, man will begin to lose those gifts.”

Phil fought to keep his expression calm and decided to try and steer the conversation back to the original topic.  “So, why am I here?”

“You are not one to be easily distracted.  You are here because these men wish you dead.  I am here, in their eyes, to ensure that once you die, you stay dead this time.”  She smirked.  “You have led an interesting life, Phillip Coulson.  If I have my way, you will have many more interesting years ahead of you.”

“So, how do I escape?” Phil asked.

“You don’t.”

Phil gave her one of his Barton patented eyebrow lifts.

“Not by yourself.  These men are fully aware of who you are and what you are capable of.  If things go as I plan, you shall be here four days before your comrades come to the rescue.  I will not mince words with you, Agent Coulson.  These men will push you to your breaking point in an attempt to get enough information to bring down the organization that you work for.  You need to stay strong.”

He nodded and they fell silent for a few moments before he asked the question that had been burning in the back of his mind.  “Why did you give Darcy Lewis the lipstick laced with the sedative?”

“It was the lesser of two evils,” she admitted.  “Isaac Hamilton was dead set on getting her to his custody one way or the other.  The only other option resulted in the death of Jane Foster before the time I had allotted to her.  Her death would have set off a series of events that brought the world to its knees.”  She stared at him solemnly.  “Think upon this, Agent Coulson.  I shall not see you again, but keep my words in your heart and mind,” she finally said, just as a knock sounded on the door.  The door opened to show a heavily armed man in tactical armor, carrying an automatic rifle.  She turned and strode through it with her head held high, not even sparing him a backwards glance.

Phil watched as she left, his mind already whirling through all of the possibilities.  _Was that an elaborate scheme or is she telling the truth?_

#

Darcy was awake surprisingly early the next morning, as in before ten a.m.  After her conversation with Will and Jason, she had finally felt something settle in her.  She knew that she needed to be upfront and honest with Phil and they had given her the push she needed.  She stretched luxuriously in bed before calling out, “Jarvis?”

“Yes, Miss Lewis?”

“Is Phil around?”

“I regret to inform you that he has not returned since leaving yesterday.”

“What?!” she exclaimed.  “He is always around.  Did something happen yesterday?”

“I do not know,” the A.I. responded.  “I would suggest asking either Agent Romanoff or Barton for further clarification.  They are both in the common room.”

Nodding, Darcy jumped out of bed, grabbing a hair tie from the table.  She padded out into the common room to find both spies watching a movie.  “Hey,” she greeted them.

Natasha looked at her, a slight smile on her face.  “How did the dinner go?” the redhead asked.

Darcy beamed.  “Jason is perfect for Will.  They are adorable together.”  She grinned madly as Natasha just stared at her.  “What?  Do I have really bad bed hair or something?” she finally asked as Natasha kept looking at her.

“No.  Coulson isn’t here.  He’s been sent on a mission and should be back in about a fortnight.”

_How the hell…._ Darcy thought.  “You are a freakin’ telepath.  I swear this.”

Natasha just smiled. An actual smile.  Darcy felt her eyes grow.  “Um, I’m just gonna go and take a shower,” she almost stuttered as she cautiously backed out of the room, vowing to herself that when Phil got back from his mission, she was going to confront him about her feelings.

With that in mind, she decided to call up Will to go on their shopping trip.

Eight hours later, Darcy was making her way back into the Tower with a multitude of shopping bags hanging off her arms.  Shopping with Will was always an experience and he had taken her to his favorite hole-in-the-wall vintage shops that catered to woman with actual curves.  Her wardrobe had grown significantly and thanks to Will’s bargaining, at a lower cost than she had expected in New York.  She made her way onto her suite and quickly put all of the clothes away before moving to the common kitchen in search of something to eat, only to walk into every single person in the Tower with various expressions of rage (Clint) and worry (Jane).

“Um?  What’s going on?” she asked as she plopped down on a barstool next to Steve, who looked like someone had stolen a puppy and then tortured it.

There were various growls at her question, but finally Thor relented.  “Son of Coul is missing.”

Darcy furrowed her brow.  “What do you mean by missing?”

It was Natasha that answered her this time, her voice ice-cold.  “He missed a flight and has not checked in.”

Tony jerked his head up with a sound of triumph.  “I’ve got him!  He took a S.H.I.E.L.D. flight to Hong Kong and then proceeded to walk around the city?  Why would he walk around the city?  He supposed to be on a mission, so why isn’t he in whatever office he has there and working?  He walked around for _hours!_   I mean, who does that?”

Natasha shot him a glare.  “He wasn’t on a mission.”

Tony slapped his head.  “Of course.  Fury is the lieingest liar who ever lied.  So why was he in Hong Kong?”

“Sir?” Jarvis interjected.

“What’s up, J?”

“I have located flight reservations in Agent Coulson’s name.  There was a flight scheduled from Hong Kong to Perth at three p.m. local time the day he landed in Hong Kong, however with an unexpected delay in his flight to Hong Kong that was rescheduled.  Then he had a flight scheduled from Perth to the Cocos Keeling Islands on Tuesday.”

“So, Agent was _going on vacation?_   Seriously?”

Darcy winced at the octave that Tony managed to hit with his question, but directed her glance at Natasha and Clint who were having one of their minute facial expressions conversations.

“So, I take it he didn’t take vacations?”

Tony barreled forward, just randomly talking at this point.  “I get that Agent needed a vacation, but seriously.  I could have flown him anywhere he would have wanted.  Why all the cloak and dagger?  Why did Fury tell us he was on a mission?”

“Tony!” Steve finally yelled.  “Maybe if you will pause in your rambling a second, someone can try and answer the questions?”  As Tony fell silent, Steve turned his attention to Natasha and Clint.  “Any ideas?”

“He has not taken a vacation in almost eight years, working holidays and never taking time to himself,” Natasha said calmly, her voice still icy.

“Clearly he felt as if he needed one,” Clint interjected.  “After all, we’re not the easiest people to be a handler to.”

“So, what are we going to do to get him back?”  Bruce asked calmly.

“If you proceed to the common room, I have a video feed of Agent Coulson walking into a park, but I do not have one of him leaving.  I believe this to be the location of his abduction,” Jarvis said.

Darcy sat at the bar as the rest of the group made their way to the room, her mind in a loop.  _Phil gone.  Phil can’t be gone.  Phil’s a ninja.  He’ll get himself out of this._   She kept repeating that to herself, just to make sure she didn’t go down the other trail of thoughts that were bubbling beneath the surface.  Thoughts about what would happen in he didn’t make it this time; how much time she might have lost with him if that is the case.  _He’ll be all right.  He’s_ Phil Fucking Coulson. _If Loki can’t keep him down, then nothing will!_

“Darcy?  You okay?” Jane asked, her voice tight with concern.

Forcefully, Darcy drew herself out of her thoughts.  “I’m fine, Jane,” she responded automatically.

“Really?” came the incredulous reply.  “Because you just found out the man that you are in love with is missing.  How can you be fine?”

Darcy’s mouth dropped open as she did a credible imitation of a landed fish.

Jane laughed softly.  “I might be scattered when it comes to anything outside of science, but Darce, I’m not blind or stupid. You clearly have feelings for the man and if it’s any consolation, I think those feelings are reciprocated.”

Darcy sighed heavily.  “I’ve been a silly fool, haven’t I?”

“Cautious, not silly,” Jane said as she settled on the stool next to Darcy and put her arm around her.  “I understand why, though.  You just don’t see how his eyes follow you when you’re not looking.”

Darcy had a startling realization at that moment.  “Oh God,” she murmured as she folded her arms on the bar and put her head down on them.  “I’m the reason that he took a vacation.”

“And how did you come to that conclusion?”

“Everyone thought that Will was my _boyfriend_!”

“So?  That’s their own fault for never asking me about it.  I’ll admit, it was amusing to watch them speculate about how you two met.”

Darcy threw her head up and looked at her best female friend in shock.  “You are such a troll.”

“It really wasn’t hard.  They were so focused on a male friend of yours that they never even thought to look deeper than that.”

“And why don’t I believe you?  Nat and Clint would have looked deeper. So would have Coulson.”

Jane rolled her eyes.  “Please.  Agent Coulson is in love with you.  He would not have probed further at the risk of his feelings coloring that.  Why Nat and Clint missed it, you have me.”

“We didn’t,” Clint said from the doorway.  “We knew that the two of you were not dating.”  His head hung for a moment.  “We chose not to say anything to Coulson because we were hoping this would be the push he needed to finally admit his feelings.”  He looked up straight at her.  “This is not your fault, Darcy.  It’s mine.   I was the one that pushed Tasha into not telling Coulson that Will was gay.  I wanted him to admit his feelings that we all know that he has.  We just wanted him to be happy.”

Darcy sighed heavily, her own feelings swirling at the thought that Phil did have feelings for her, but those feelings had put him in danger.  “Then why did you act surprised when I told everyone that Will was gay?”  Clint was saved from responding by Tony’s voice.

“It’s A.I.M.!”

Clint turned quickly and moved back to the common room, this time Jane and Darcy followed.

“What do you mean?” Clint asked, sharing a look with Natasha.

Tony pointed to the screen, flailing his arm widely.  “Jarvis ran a facial rec on two guys that didn’t look like they belonged.  They work for A.I.M.”

“When are we suiting up, Cap?” Clint asked.

“We’re not.”  Steve held up a hand to stop the protests before they came.  “We need to discover where they are holding Agent Coulson.  Then, we’ll raze them to the ground.”  He gave them all a long hard look.  “Nat, Tony, both of you follow the digital trail of where they could be holding Agent Coulson.  Thor, see if Heimdall can give you any information.  Bruce, put together an extensive first aid kit; I don’t know what kind of condition he may be in.  Clint, you and I will reach out to our contacts and see what we can find.”

Everyone nodded and quickly split up, leaving Darcy and Jane standing in the common room.  Jane took one look at Darcy and tugged on the younger woman’s arm.  “Come on.  Tequila time,” she said before dragging Darcy to her own room.

Three shots of tequila later, Darcy was already feeling lightheaded.  That’s what drinking on an empty stomach was like.  The tequila served to completely disconnect the very small brain-to-mouth filter that she had, so she started talking.  “What am I supposed to do, Jane?  Why would someone as badass as Phil even notice me?” she asked as she poured another shot before shooting it quickly.

Jane frowned, noticing not for the first time how Darcy always talked down about herself.  “Darce, you’re amazing.  You don’t think we notice how you keep things so calm and organized in the lab?  You don’t see how much easier you make our lives for us?  Take Bruce.  You don’t treat him with kid gloves and you keep everyone from freaking out around him.  You keep me fed and remind me to go outside once and a while.”  Darcy raised an eyebrow.  “Okay, strong arm me to go outside once and a while.  That’s not the point.  You are just as badass as Phil Coulson.  Just in different ways.”

“I’m good at herding cats.”

Jane rolled her eyes.  “And why wouldn’t Phil appreciate that?  He’s had to deal with Tony Stark forever and you manage Tony quite well.  You think that he didn’t notice that?”

“I have no brain-to-mouth filter to speak of Jane!  He never says the wrong thing.  He can kill people with his pinky, I swear this.  Why would he want someone twenty years younger than him?!”

“Age is but a number, Darcy.  My boyfriend is several thousand years older than me.”

Darcy snorted as she knocked back another shot.  “You’re good people, Jane.  Is the room spinning?”

Jane shook her head before helping Darcy lie down, fully expecting her to pass out before too long.  Darcy didn’t disappoint her.  Within five minutes of lying down, her eyes closed and she began to snore softly.

After covering her with a blanket, Jane left the room to go to her lab.  Thor knew to find her there when he had news.  She soon lost herself in science, studying the Bifrost readings to see if Earth technology would be able to replicate it in order to travel to the Moon or even Mars.  She wanted to see if there was a way to make affordable space travel.  Unfortunately, the numbers were not playing nice with her.  Determined to find a solution, she bent her head once again over her readings of the Bifrost and lost herself.

She wasn’t sure how much time passed before a cup of coffee appeared in front of her.  She blinked several times before looking up to find Thor smiling as he sipped his own cup of coffee.  Smiling softly, she picked up her own cup to find that he had added the exact amount of sugar and creamer that she liked.  “Any news?”

“Nay.  Tony believes that Son of Coul was taken out of Hong Kong, however he is finding it difficult to trace where he could have ended up.  Heimdall has said that he is unable to see Son of Coul.”  Thor looked troubled at that thought.

Jane pursed her lips and made a reassuring noise.  “It means that someone could be blocking Heimdall, doesn’t it?”

“Ay.  That is troubling since Loki is one of the few that are able to block Heimdall’s sight.”  Thor sighed heavily.  “I would not put it past my brother to have led me to believe that he was dead to escape the endless boredom of his cell.”

Jane furrowed his brow.  “So, you think that he is alive and he is responsible for kidnapping Agent Coulson?  What would he gain out of it?”

“That, I cannot fathom, my love.  However, I have never been able to fathom how Loki’s mind works, so I perhaps am not the best person to ask.  Alas, it was always my mother that was able to divine the reasons behind Loki’s decisions and she has gone on to the fields of Fólkvangr.”

Jane put her cup down and wrapped her arms around him.  “I’m sorry,” she murmured softly. 

“Death is a part of life and as long as I live, my mother will live in my heart and in the hearts of all Asgardians.”

Jane smiled, thankful that Thor was beginning to move past his grief.  Unexpectedly she yawned.  “Oh, I’m so sorry.  What time is it?”

“A little after eight at night.”

“Oh,” she replied.  She wasn’t used to working such a long stretch without Darcy there to cajole her into eating and taking a break anymore.  Her stomach rumbled its protest and she smiled sheepishly while Thor laughed. 

“Let us find you something to eat,” he said before drawing her out of the lab.  The smell of garlic and onion assaulted her senses as soon as she stepped off of the elevator on the common room floor and her stomach grumbled loudly again. 

Jane just hurried her steps towards the kitchen to find Bruce and Darcy moving around each other in the kitchen.  She stood, just watching the dance happen.  She knew that Darcy liked to cook, but every time she had tried to help out the younger woman, she ended up getting chased out of the kitchen with a wooden spoon.  “Huh,” she mused.

Darcy turned around out the sound and pasted on a semblance of a smile.  “What?  You know me.  I cook when I’m stressed.”

Jane raised an unimpressed eyebrow.  “Yes and you usually chase out anyone who is in the kitchen with you.”

Darcy shrugged.  “Bruce knows his way around spices.  Hey Jarvis?  Can you let everyone know that dinner is ready?”

“Certainly, Miss Lewis.”

Darcy looked at Jane.  “Set the table, will ya?  I’ve got to pull these lasagnas out of the oven.”

Jane just nodded and did as asked.  By the time she was done, the kitchen was filled with the entire team.

“Smells good in here,” Tony said as he plopped down in a chair.  “You order in Italian?”

“Nope,” Darcy said as she set a pan of lasagna on the table.  “Homemade.  Hope you like it.”

Quiet reigned as the team ate, lacking the chatter that Darcy normally associated with team dinners.  It was surreal.  She managed to eat a small piece of lasagna, but lost her appetite quickly and just played around with the rest of the food on her plate.

Clint and Natasha seemed to understand what she was feeling, so once the team was finished, Natasha began to speak.    “I believe that we should adjourn to the common room to bring everyone up to speed on everything.”

Everyone nodded and quickly moved from the table before settling onto the multitudes of couches and chairs available.  Darcy shared a couch with Jane and Thor, the holding the former’s hand tightly.

“Stark and I have had no luck in locating Agent Coulson digitally, however, when we went back and reviewed the cameras from where he was abducted from, I ran across a picture.”  Natasha clicked a button and a grainy picture of a blonde woman came up.  Quickly, she enhanced the picture so that the woman’s face was clear.

“That’s the woman who gave me the lipstick,” Darcy said with a gasp.

Natasha nodded.  “Yes, it is.  I ran facial rec a second time and discovered something very interesting.”  She pulled up another series of photographs, all from Darcy’s abduction.  “When we ran the scans after your abduction, there was no hit in the databases for this woman.  Yet, when I ran it this time, I came up with a multitude of information that had supposedly been available for years.  So, I asked Jarvis to investigate.  Jarvis tell them what you found.”

“I was able to identify the woman’s name.  Paisley Bancroft, of London.  From the online records, she is a very wealthy woman, heir to the Bancroft computing fortune.  However, in reality, this woman did not exist until after your abduction, Miss Lewis.”

Clint’s head snapped up.  “Her background was backstopped?  Who?  CIA, MI6?”

“I am still working to locate the source for the backstop, Agent Barton,” Jarvis replied.  “However, given that she is purported to be from London, my initial hypothesis is MI6.”

Natasha raised an eyebrow as Clint growled.  “Given that hypothesis, I reached out to come contacts that I have at both the CIA and MI6.  Neither one of them backstopped her.  Something else is in play here.  I did however, manage to get some information about the woman from my contact in MI6.  It seems that she burst onto the criminal scene about a year ago, but she seems reluctant at best.  Whomever she is working for is controlling her somehow and I think if we find her, we will find Coulson.”

Tony nodded emphatically.  “With that in mind, I am in the process of hacking every single camera in the world to locate this woman.  This will hopefully give us a starting point at least.”

Darcy bit her look, taking a hard look at the team surrounding her.  They had been working non-stop in their search and the exhaustion was setting in.  Even though every fiber in her body screamed to let them continue working to help Phil, she knew that if she didn’t force them to rest, then it could have catastrophic consequences when it came to the rescue.  So, she took a deep breath and released it.  “Jarvis can run the search, correct?” she asked Tony to his surprise.

“Yes.”

“Good, then everyone in this room needs to go to sleep.  You’ve been working hard all day and even I can tell that you are tired.  Jarvis can awaken us if he finds any information, but you will do no good to Agent Coulson if you are too exhausted to actually complete the rescue.”

Tony started to argue, but when she quirked her eyebrow at him he shuddered.  “I wish that you had never learned how to do that,” he muttered as he strode out of the room.

Darcy managed a small smile.  “Jarvis, please bar him from his lab until he’s had at least six hours of sleep.”

“Of course, Ms. Lewis.”

She turned and looked at the rest of them.  “Go to bed.  Don’t make me tell you again.”

The team nodded, too used to her by now to even put up a token argument.  With that, each of the filed away to their rooms, to try and get at least a few hours of uncomfortable sleep.

The following two days, mirrored the first with a frustrating lack of information.  The morning of the third day dawned gray and rainy.  Perfect to fit her mood.  As of yet, neither Tony nor Jarvis had been able to locate him and the stress was leaving the majority of the team snippy.  Steve, Natasha and Thor kept to the training rooms, beating up boxing bags and each other to burn off the anger.  Tony and Bruce kept to their labs; Bruce trying to force Tony to sleep a little bit.  Clint spent his time on the range, decimating targets with a blank face that made Darcy shudder.

Sighing, she grabbed a tray of food and cautiously made her way down to Tony’s lab.  Jarvis had confirmed that he had not eaten in twelve hours, so she was going to force him to, even if she had to sit on him to accomplish that goal.

The lab was uncharacteristically silent when she walked in, no sounds of hair metal bands from the eighties greeted her.  That was when she knew it was bad.  Even in the worst moments, Tony had the volume up loud enough to deafen an entire block.  The silence was unnerving.

“I don’t get it.  How can these people hide from me and Jarvis?” Tony was saying, defeat in his voice.

Bruce just lay a comforting hand on his shoulder.  “You will find him, Tony.”

Darcy quickly put the tray down.  “Not if he doesn’t eat and keep up his strength.”  Tony opened his mouth to protest, but she quickly cut him off.  “No.  I will not hear a word.  Eat.  It will help you think.”

Silently Tony nodded and dropped onto a stool to begin to eat.  Darcy looked around the lab, seeing everything from Hong Kong projected onto one wall.  She walked over to it, looking through the images.  Then she moved to the picture of Paisley Bancroft, studying the woman who helped to have her kidnapped.  A thought niggled in her brain, worming its way out from the depths and she turned.  “Have you tried England?”

Tony looked up at her in confusion, the second half of the sandwich halfway to his mouth.  “What do you mean?”

Darcy shrugged.  “Have you tried to look for him in England?  It mean, it makes sense.  Paisley Bancroft is English and when I was kidnapped, that was where he took me.  Didn’t you say all along that Ian was working for someone else?  Maybe he was working for A.I.M.”

Tony and Bruce looked at each other before Tony dropped the food and slid the chair to the middle of the room.  “Jarvis, I want to know each and every flight that has landed in the U.K. in the last eight-four hours.  I need manifest from each flight and what the flight path was.  Just because they left from Hong Kong, doesn’t necessarily mean that they flew straight to England for there.  Cross reference any flights to find someone that did originate in Hong Kong and let’s see if we can find something out.”  Tony turned to her, his face animated.  “You are a genius and I don’t tell just anyone that, Darcy Lewis.  I see why Foster keeps you around now.”

Darcy just rolled her eyes.  “No, you just need someone around to point out the obvious once and a while, Stark.”

“Hey.  I can see the obvious!” he cried out in an affronted tone.  Darcy could see the merriment that was dancing in his eyes.

“Uh-uh.  Sure.  That’s why it took you ten years to ask out Pepper.  Whatever, Stark.”

Tony just shot her a smile as he turned back to the holographic projections, information whirling about quick enough to give her a headache.  With that in mind, she quickly retreated back to Jane’s lab to try and keep herself busy.

Thankfully, Jane had amassed a ton of data in the previous days, so she spent the next few hours transcribing scribbles into coherent sentences.  She was interrupted a few hours later by Jarvis.

“Dr. Foster, Miss Lewis.  Would you please go to the common room?  Sir has found Agent Coulson.”

Darcy was up and to the elevator within seconds, vibrating with tension.  When the doors closed, she let out a breath.  “Is he alive, Jarvis?”

“Yes, but he is in bad shape.  The team is assembling and will be taking a trauma surgeon with them as well.”

Darcy whimpered and Jane grabbed her hand as they walked off the elevator.

“Darcy, it’s because of you we found him,” Tony greeted her.  “He is in England, in fact he is in the mansion where we found you.”

Darcy nodded, her throat closing with distress.

“Do not worry, sister,” Thor said as he hefted his hammer up.  “The cretins that have taken him will feel our wrath and soon Agent Coulson will be back at our sides, recovering.”

Jane looked at Darcy, feeling her distress and looked at each of the team members.  “Just get him back,” she said as she drew her friend over to the couch and pushed her on to it.

Each of them nodded before filing out of the room.

#

Phil groaned when he heard the door open, every part of his body hurt.  Atropos had not been lying when she had told him that the torture that he was going to endure was going to be the worst of his life.  Thinking about it, waterboarding had been the most pleasant part of it.  Yet, he still refused to talk, to give them the information on S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers that they were asking for.  He refused to put anyone he knew in danger, even though the logical part of his brain said that the Avengers could take care of themselves.

The information that they were asking for would allow them to bypass all of the towers defenses and leave more than just the Avengers vulnerable.  It would leave their support staff, mainly Jane Foster and Darcy Lewis compromised.  Somewhere deep inside, he knew that if he helped these men, Darcy would be in danger and he would not be there to help her out.

Atropos had promised him he would be rescued on the fourth day.  So, when he was pulled from the stained and dirty mattress than had been his for four days now, his only thoughts were of Darcy and to stay strong for one more day for her.  He would endure the fiery flames of hell to keep her safe.

Each interrogation made Phil lose track of time.  The pain overrode all of his senses, but he would only repeat his name, rank and S.H.I.E.L.D. badge number.  Several times, he felt his breaking point get near, but each time that happened, he envisioned Darcy lying on that bed and it pushed his resolve to the forefront.  This one was the same, but instead of using knives on him, they began to use electricity, causing his body to spasm.

He cried out in pain when the cattle prod touched him again, but the duration was weak and he thought he heard thunder outside.  He felt, more than heard, the unease that was settling with his tormentors and when he heard the unmistakable roar of Hulk, he managed a smile.  He was left, cuffed to the metal chair as all of the guards ran out of the room, preparing to fight.

It was only as the door opened and he caught a glimpse of black leather and red hair that he allowed himself the luxury of relaxing.  He looked into the face of Natasha and even though it hurt, he managed to say, “It’s about time.”  Then he passed out from the pain.

He regained consciousness slowly, first sounds, then smells becoming recognizable.  He heard the beep of an EKG and smelled the antiseptic that was used on the medical floor of the Tower.  He willed his eyes to open and immediately regretted it as light blinded him.  He must have made a sound since the next thing he heard was Darcy saying his name.

“Phil?”

“Too bright,” he rasped out, his throat scratchy.

“Turn down lights,” Darcy said.  “Okay, we’ve lowered the lights.  Open your eyes, Phil.”

Slowly, he followed her command and then turned to his left, where Darcy was seated.  She looked perfect to him, even if her eyes were ringed with shadows that would make a raccoon proud.  “Darcy,” he started before coughing.

She shushed him.  “Don’t talk until you’ve had a drink of water.”

He nodded as she held up a glass with a straw in it.  He quickly took a drink of the ice-cold water which soothed his throat.  “How long?” he managed to ask.

Darcy bit her lip, tears forming in her eyes. “You’ve been in a medically induced coma for a month now.”

“How bad?”

Darcy looked over her shoulder and he noticed Bruce standing there.  He walked towards the bed.  “Pneumonia from the waterboarding, more broken bones than you want to know about, severe internal bruising, damaged spleen and a tension pneumothorax.  Plus, your body has been fighting off infections left and right.”  Bruce looked at him.   “You’re lucky to be alive.”

Phil felt a smirk.  “I have it on good authority that it was not my time to die,” he said as Darcy clutched his hand. 

Bruce just shook his head.  “The rest of the team is on their way.  The doctors don’t want them here very long, you still have a long road to recovery.

Phil nodded before turning his attention to the one thing that kept him from talking.  “Darcy…”

She shook her head.  “No.  Let me talk.  I thought I had lost you, Phil and it crushed my world.  Before you ask, Will is not my boyfriend.  For Christ’s sake, the man is gay and has been all of his life.  He’s my best friend in the world.”  The tears in her eyes spilled over.  “I thought I would never get a chance to tell you how I feel.  I’m in love with you Philip Coulson.”

Phil felt a smile break over his face and a weight lift off of him.  “I’m in love with you, too, Darcy Lewis.”  He lifted their entwined hands and tugged at her so he could feel her in his arms.  “You are the only reason I survived,” he murmured into her hair, determined to enjoy this one moment before the realities of their world came back to him and felt the green-eyed monster of jealousy in him disappear like smoke.

They wouldn’t have an easy path, but for once something in his life was going the right direction.  They could figure the rest out later, he resolved as contentment settled over him for the first time in a long time.

_Fini_

**Author's Note:**

> Hong Kong is 13 hours ahead of New York. So (feel like I’m going a math problem here), if Phil’s flight leaves at 10 am Saturday in New York, it is 11 pm Sunday in Hong Kong. The quickest commercial flight to Hong Kong from New York is about 15 ½ hours, (I shaved some time off to allow for S.H.I.E.L.D.’s superior technology), so he was scheduled to land at 11am Hong Kong time. The flight from Hong Kong to Perth is 7 hours 45 minutes and the flight from Perth to the Cocos Islands is 6 hours 20 minutes (with a stop at Christmas Island). Check out pictures of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands on Google. It is GORGEOUS.


End file.
